Lea County, New Mexico

Lea County population, land area and income

Lea County had 75,151 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 4,391.6 square miles of land. It ranks 7th of 33 in New Mexico by population and 11th by land area. That works out to 17.1 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in New Mexico has 26,428 residents, so Lea County is 2.8 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $60,820 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Lea County's population changed since 2020

Lea County gained 508 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.7%. That ranks 10th of 33 in New Mexico for growth. The median New Mexico county changed by -1.3%, and the state as a whole by +0.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Lea County recorded 4,344 births and 2,906 deaths, a natural change of +1,438. Net international migration added +3,572 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -4,308. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 4,308 people.

Where Lea County is

The Census internal point of Lea County is at 32.795700, -103.413300. It sits in UTM zone 13N. The map shades New Mexico's 33 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Lea County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Lea County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Lea County, 58,014 people together, or 77% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Lea County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Hobbs with 41,061.

Counties bordering Lea County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 9 neighbors for Lea County, including 6 across a state line. The most populous is Chaves County, NM, with 63,697 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Chaves County

  63,697 people

  73 mi WNW

• Eddy County

  61,436 people

  57 mi WSW

• TX

  Gaines County, TX

  22,892 people

  46 mi E

• TX

  Andrews County, TX

  18,923 people

  56 mi SE

• Roosevelt County

  18,713 people

  85 mi N

• TX

  Yoakum County, TX

  7,581 people

  42 mi NE

• TX

  Winkler County, TX

  7,381 people

  70 mi SSE

• TX

  Cochran County, TX

  2,583 people

  65 mi NNE

• TX

  Loving County, TX

  48 people

  66 mi S

Distance to Santa Fe and the nearest big city

Santa Fe is 246.1 miles NW of Lea County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Odessa, TX (population 119,748), 88.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Lovington, NM (population 11,693), 10.9 miles away.

Lea County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Lea County is 35025: state code 35 for New Mexico plus county code 025. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $60,820.